Drinking apple cider vinegar may help with weight reduction but its health advantages are overstated

Each morning at breakfast, my partner gives me orange juice that tastes more sour than expected. One day, she explained that she adds apple cider vinegar to enhance my health.

As a former primary schoolteacher she swears by the stuff. She tells me she kept apple cider vinegar within the staff room in order that when children became unwell with diarrhoea and vomiting, she could take it immediately to guard her from the illness.

I used to be sceptical about yet one more immune-boosting miracle ingredient. Apple cider vinegar is a natural product product of fermented apple juice that has gone sour. Apparently, the very best stuff is cloudy and has sediment, often called the “mother”, since it is comparatively unfiltered – that is where the nice bacteria lives. Without the mother, there’s unlikely to be much profit to taking apple cider vinegar.

But is there any real profit in the primary place? I made a decision to show medical sleuth and investigate whether apple cider vinegar is nearly as good for health because it sounds. There isn’t as much scientific evidence to support its popularity as a health tonic as some influencers might prefer to think.

Claim: disinfectant properties

Vinegar has a protracted history as a surface decontaminant and maybe this is the reason salad dressings contain vinegar – in addition to adding flavour, it could kill micro-organisms on raw vegetables.

But does apple cider vinegar’s decontaminant qualities translate to the human gut? Our stomachs produce acid, which acts as a natural barrier to infection, so how can adding more acid help?

Research suggests that apple cider vinegar delays stomach emptying so perhaps increased time in touch with stomach acid might account for the claimed protective effect against enteric infections.

Claim: weight reduction and management of type 2 diabetes

There are loads of anecdotal claims that apple cider vinegar can aid weight reduction, supported by limited evidence from several small studies. A randomised controlled trial published in early 2024 showed significant reductions in weight and waist size of 120 chubby and obese young people. There were also reductions in serum triglycerides – blood fats that may raise the chance of heart disease if levels are too high – and cholesterol over the three-month follow-up period.

A scientific review from 2020, nevertheless, found evidence of only marginal advantages citing “insufficient evidence”. Another subsequent systematic review from 2021 – taking a look at dietary supplementation with acetic acid from all vinegar types – found evidence of significant reductions in fasting blood glucoseparticularly in individuals with type 2 diabetes. The study also showed advantages in reducing serum triglycerides and cholesterol.

So how might these effects work? Apple cider vinegar is believed to cause weight reduction through its effect on delay of gastric emptying. This increases a way of fullness and reduces appetite. Reduced calorific intake will result in weight reduction – but how are the metabolic effects on blood glucose and lipids mediated?

Blood glucose levels are controlled by the pancreatic hormone insulin. In type 2 diabetes there’s a discount in sensitivity to insulin which in turn results in a reduced uptake of glucose by cells. There is a few evidence that apple cider vinegar – and other sources of acetic acid – improves insulin sensitivity so it’s possible that there are some advantages for those with this condition. Since high blood glucose levels are related to high serum lipid levels, the associated reduction in blood glucose levels attributable to improved insulin sensitivity should improve in blood lipid profiles as demonstrated in literature reviews.

Claim: reduces risk of heart disease

Raised blood lipids are a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases equivalent to myocardial infarction and stroke. Can apple cider vinegar consumption reduce their incidence? Well, I’m afraid there’s no scientific evidence that vinegar consumption of any kind reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in those with or without diabetes. For those without diabetes, the advantages of vinegar consumption on blood lipid levels are less clear, as suggested in this study from 2013.

Claim: cancer treatment and prevention

One of the more outrageous claims of advantages of each day apple cider vinegar consumption is that it could prevent or treat cancer. A ceaselessly quoted case-control study from China found that an increased consumption of vinegar was related to a reduced incidence of oesophageal cancer. What some popular web sources who cite this study don’t say is that eating beans and vegetables was also found to be protective, in addition to was eating a food plan with a traditional salt intake and drinking water from a faucet. There are at all times multiple confounding aspects when claims are made concerning cancer and we must at all times be on our critical guard.

Should I proceed to take my apple cider vinegar adulterated orange juice each morning? The evidence suggests that it is going to help with my waistline and my weight so I’ll put up with the sour taste for some time longer.